Seven Longhorns to compete in 2012 Olympics
July 26, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas -- Two current and five former members of the Texas Women's Track & Field program will travel to London to represent their countries at the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games. Rising juniors Christy Udoh and Allison Peter and former Longhorns Sanya Richards-Ross, Melaine Walker, Raasin McIntosh, Michelle Carter and Bianca Knight will compete from August 3-12 at Olympic Stadium. Richards-Ross (United States) and Peter (U.S. Virgin Islands) will both be competing in multiple events in London. Richards-Ross won the 400m in commanding fashion with the then-fastest time in the world this year at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month in Eugene, Ore., to earn a spot on her third Olympic team. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400m relay (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008) and was also the bronze medalist in the 400m in Beijing. In the midst of one of the best seasons of her career, Richards-Ross looks to take her first Olympic gold in the 400m after winning the event at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year. The first round of the 400m will take place on Friday, Aug. 3, with the semifinals being contested on Aug. 4. The final will be held Aug. 5. As a member of Team USA's Relay Pool, Richards-Ross will also be eligible to compete in the 4x400m relay, which is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 10 (first round) and Saturday, Aug. 11 (final). Peter, coming off her sophomore campaign at Texas and her silver medal-winning performance at the 2012 North America-Central America and Caribbean U-23 Championships in June, is appearing in her first Olympics. She will open her campaign on Aug. 3 with the preliminary and first rounds of the 100m dash. The semifinals and final round will be run on Aug. 4. Peter and Richards-Ross will also both be competing in the 200m along with current Longhorn Christy Udoh. Udoh qualified to represent Nigeria after placing third in the event at the 2012 All-Nigeria Athletics Championships. Udoh, who is competing in her first Olympics, was an All-America First Team honoree in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in May, posting a personal-best 22.72 at the meet.
The first round heats of the 200m will be run on Monday, Aug. 6. The semifinals are scheduled for Aug. 7 and the final will take place on Aug. 8. Competing in her second Olympics will be former Longhorn Michelle Carter in the shot put. Carter placed second at the Olympic Trials with a throw of 18.57m (60-11.25) to earn the automatic Olympic qualification. She is also a three-time USA Outdoor champion in the event and was the bronze medalist at the World Indoor Championships this year. Both the qualification round and the finals of the Olympic shot put competition will be held on Aug. 6. The Longhorns will also be represented by a pair of former student-athletes in the 400m hurdles. Reigning Olympic and World Champion and Olympic record-holder Melaine Walker will race for Jamaica after winning the event at the 2012 Jamaica Senior National Championships. She will be joined by Raasin McIntosh, who will represent Liberia. The first round heats of the 400m hurdles will be contested on Aug. 5 with the semifinals scheduled for Aug. 6. The event final is slated for Aug. 8, immediately preceding the women's 200m final. After racing in the final heats of both the 100m and 200m at the Olympic Trials, Bianca Knight qualified for her second Olympics as a member of the United States' Relay Pool. She will compete as a member of the USA 4x100m relay team on Thursday, Aug. 9 and Friday, Aug. 10. NBC will carry coverage of track & field throughout the 2012 Olympics. Localized coverage schedules can be found by visiting NBCOlympics.com. 2012 Olympic Track & Field Information Texas Longhorns Competition Schedule (all times Central) Saturday, August 4 Sunday, August 5 Monday, August 6 Tuesday, August 7 Wednesday, August 8 Thursday, August 9 Friday, August 10 Saturday, August 11 |
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